Energy bills: NHS chief warns of 'more deaths' due to the cold

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Struggling households could see their energy bills reach unprecedented levels and not be able to afford them – potentially leading to more than 10,000 dying from the cold, NHS Confederation chief executive Matthew Taylor warned. The dire warning comes as the energy regulator Ofgem could set the new price cap on energy bills at £3,576 per year, according to energy consultancy Auxilione – the cap is currently at £1,971. Ofgem is set to announce the price cap next week.

Speaking to Times Radio, Mr Taylor said: “What our leaders have said to us very clearly is that they already see out in the community and in terms of our own low-paid staff in the health and care systems a growing problem of people not being able to pay their bills.

“We know from research that a high proportion of people say that they’re not going to be able to pay energy bills.

“And that means that people will turn off the heating in their homes.

“And even in an ordinary year, it’s estimated that around 10,000 people die as a consequence.”

He added: “But that figure could be massively higher this year because we have this huge problem.

“Now, I absolutely recognise that the Government faces a set of enviable choices.

“But it is our responsibility just to be clear about what more people in fuel poverty will mean for the health service and the services available for the rest of it.”

One of the two Conservative leadership candidates – Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak – will soon face the issue once one of them comes into power on September 6.

Despite growing calls for a plan on energy bills, frontrunner Liz Truss has rejected Labour’s plan to freeze rocketing energy bills.

The Foreign Secretary branded Keir Starmer’s proposal as putting “sticking plasters on this problem”, insisting her priority is cutting taxes if she becomes the new Prime Minister.

When asked if she is “failing to grasp the scale of the problem”, Ms Truss argued: “We’re still in the leadership contest at the moment.

“Now, my priority is reducing taxes so people can keep more of their own money at the same time as making sure we boost energy supply. It is wrong to just keep sticking plasters on this problem.”

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Rishi Sunak, for his part, has pledged to slash rising energy bills for up to 16 million vulnerable households by finding up to £10 billion. He also vowed to cut VAT on energy bills.

In an article to The Times laying out his energy plan, Mr Sunak said he would offer specific support to pensioners and those on benefits as they “simply cannot increase their incomes to meet their energy costs and are the most vulnerable in society”.

As the Tory leadership race heats up, Rishi Sunak attacked Liz Truss on her plan to tackle the cost-of-living crisis, saying it would lead to millions of people being “tipped into destitution.”

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